Shelf



June 0, 1953 SHELF Filed July 29 1949 VENTO JQ a, BY

727010; tmm

MM 1M Patented June 30, 1953 1 UNITED STATES OFFICE 1 2,643,931 I I p g V SHELF I Tilman R. Anderson, Viroqua, Wis. v 7

Application July 29, 1949, Serial N0. 107,472

This invention relates to improvements in shelves, and more particularly to an auxiliary shelf which is adapted to be attached to the under side of a conventional shelf in a cabinet.

It is common practice in kitchens to have a number of small containers, such as spice containers, on hand for occasional use. In conventional kitchen cabinets, there is no place to store small containers without wasting a substantial amount of space which could otherwise be used for the storage of larger or taller articles. Furthermore, when spice containers are stored on the same shelf with larger articles, the small containers are often hidden and difficult to find.

It is, therefore, a general object of the invention to provide an auxiliary shelf on which small containers may be stored without sacrificing storage surface on any of the main shelves of a cupboard.

A further object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary shelf which is positionable against the under side of a cabinet shelf to be readily accessible and to consume space which would be otherwise wasted.

A further object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary shelf of the class described which is generally V-shaped, and which may extend from opposite ends at the front edge of a cabinet shelf to a central portion at the rear of said shelf to provide maximum storage space for small containers, with the label on each container visible.

A further object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary shelf of the class described which permits tall objects, such as bottles, to be stored on the shelf therebelow to project into space not occupied by the auxiliary shelf.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shelf of the class described which is simple in construction, easy to manufacture and install, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes described.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the improved auxiliary shelf, and all of its parts and combinations, as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification wherein is shown one complete embodiment of the preferred form of the invention, and wherein the same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the views:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the 1 Claim. (01. 312-351) 7 improved auxiliary shelf mounted in a cabinet,

parts of the cabinet being broken away for clarity; v V

V Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the improved auxiliary shelf mounted in a cabinet; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary top view of the apex portion of the improved shelf.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 5 indicates a cabinet such as a kitchen cabinet having a plurality of horizontally disposed shelves, and including shelves 6 and 'l. The cabinet 5 also has opposite side Walls 8 and 9, a rear wall 10, and an open front which may be provided with a door (not shown).

Mounted within the cabinet El, adjacentv the underside of the shelf 6, is the auxiliary shelf ll forming the subject matter of the present invention. The shelf ll may be made of one piece of material, but it is preferable to make it in two pieces as illustrated.

The improved shelf H is generally V-shaped in plan view, and comprises a pair of diverging angle members I2 and 13. The angle members 12 and i3 have horizontally extending shelf portions 14 and 15, respectively and upright wall portions l6 and 11, respectively. At their converging ends, the members [2 and I3 are formed with extensions t8 and I9, respectively of the walls It and H, which extensions overlap as shown in Fig. 3 to form an apex portion or rear wall 20. The rear Wall 20 is provided with an aperture 2| which is adapted to receive an attaching screw 22, the latter being adapted to extend into the rear wall H] of the cabinet 9.

The walls l6 and I! are formed with apertured horizontal attaching ears or flanges 23 and 24 at their upper edges and adjacent their forward ends, as shown, said flanges being adapted to receive attaching screws 25 and 26 which may project upwardly into the under side of the shelf 6. The meeting corner portions of the shelves l4 and I5 are angularly cut to match, and abut as at 21, and the forward edges of said shelves are cut at an angle to make them pagalilel with the front edges of the shelves 6 an The improved auxiliary shelf H is adapted to store a plurality of relatively small packages, such as spice containers, shakers and the like. By reason of its V-shape the shelf I I provides a maximum of shelf surface While permitting the labels on all of the containers to be visible at a glance. The improved shelf occupies a minimum of'space and permits the storage of relatively tall objects, such as bottles, therebehind, as shown in Fig. 2.

All of the containers stored on the improved shelf are readily accessible and said shelf conserves the surface of the main shelves for the storage of larger articles.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all of such changes are contemplated as may come Within the scope of the claim.

What I claim is: I

In combination, an auxiliary shelf, a kitchen cabinet or the like having conventional shelves and having a rear Wall and having a front openopen front opposite said apex portion and accessible for storage of articles from said front opening of the cabinet, said auxiliary shelf also havi ng elongated rearwardly converging horizontal shelf portions each of a length and size to independentthe rear wall of said cabinet with the open front of said auxiliary shelf facing the forward edge of said cabinet shelf, said converging horizontal shelf portions providing a V-shaped space therebetween of substantial width and depth so that tall articles in the kitchen cabinet may project upwardly into said V-shaped space above the level of the horizontal shelf portions of the auxiliary shelf.

IW. RtANDEs. 0N.

.Refcrences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date -$01 ,598 Eggl Oct. 20, 1908 1,301,957 Mayer Apr. 29, 1919 1,925,540 Neuschotz Sept. 5, 1933 1,946,963 Brouillet Feb. 13, 1934 2,071,900 Procter Feb. 23, 1937 v.2., 2'7j,0 l;2. .Lum Sept. 9, 1947 2,472,004 Czerniewicz May 31, 1949 Schuler Sept. 5, 1950 

